Gibson apologizes for DUI tirade

July 30, 2006|MICHELLE CARUSO New York Daily News

LOS ANGELES -- A day after being arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, Mel Gibson apologized Saturday for getting behind the wheel while "inebriated" and said he was "deeply ashamed" of the "despicable" things he said in an abusive rant to police officers. "I acted like a person completely out of control when I was arrested, and said things that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable," Gibson said in a statement. "I am deeply ashamed of everything I said." The 50-year-old Oscar winner didn't get more specific about his tirade to the L.A. County sheriff's deputies who stopped him on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu early Friday. The sheriff's department has refused to release either Gibson's mug shot or the report of the arresting officer, Deputy James Mee. But celebrity news Web site TMZ.com obtained several pages of Mee's report and published explosive details. According to Mee's report, Gibson berated and uttered obscenities to the deputy. "The Passion of the Christ" director also made anti-Semitic remarks, according to the Web site. "F -- -- -- Jews. Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world," Mee's report quotes Gibson as saying. The "Braveheart" star apologized Saturday to Mee, who "was just doing his job." "I feel fortunate that I was apprehended before I caused injury to another person," Gibson said in his statement. The Australian actor said he had battled alcoholism "for all of my adult life and profoundly regret my horrific relapse." He said he had "already taken necessary steps to ensure my return to health," but did not elaborate.